SHAH ALAM: Third LMS delivered. A day after the Defence Minister said that the LMS procurement will be completed by end of this month, RMN took physical delivery of the third LMS (pennant 113). The physical delivery ceremony was held at a hotel in Qidong, Shanghai on Sept 14 (today), RMN said in a press release.

The ship will be known as KD Badik once commissioned in service, hopefully later this month or in early October. Badik is a small daggers used in the past through-out the archipelago. This is in keeping with the names selected for the China-made LMS – the first one is KD Keris and KD Sundang – small knives or daggers.

RMN was represented by the Malaysian Defence Attache to China, First Admiral Zahid Aziz, together with BNS and China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Ltd. According to RMN, work on the third LMS started on 18 September 2019 and she was launched on 28 October, 2020. The ship has since undergone successful harbour and sea trials.

RMN said prior to signing the physical delivery documents, Zahid led the final inspection committee, conducting documentation, physical and sailing of the ship. RMN said the final and fourth LMS – to be named KD Rencong – is expected to be delivered by this December. Hopefully by that time the situation will be conducive for me to attend the commissioning ceremony.

With the physical delivery ceremony held today, I am guessing that the LMS 3 will embarked on her first official travel for Kota Kinabalu, very soon. It was for this reason I wrote yesterday that the Defence Ministry should be able to enunciate her commissioning date instead of the very vague “by the end of the month.

The commissioning of the still unnamed LMS 3 is expected to be held at the Kota Kinabalu naval base. If you remember, KD Sundang, physical delivery and naming ceremony was done at the same time. Her commissioning was delayed of course due to the pandemic.

— Malaysian Defence

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